There was great excitement in the kitchen yesterday with the arrival of a 25 year old wild Scottish Halibut.  This fever did not really register on the rest of us but then we did not know then what we know now. For a start, did you know the colder the water the tastier the fish?  (No wonder Iceland can get a bit touchy fishy about its waters!)  She came from the North Sea and landed at Fraserburgh harbour on the North East corner of Scotland, Simon Ward, from Wards Fishmongers on the Wirral, told me Paul Askew was one of less than a handful of chefs he knew that could cut and do justice to such a magnificent catch.

She arrived at 11.00am and by 2.30pm she was resting in pieces, with head and toe (sorry tail fin) in the stock pot.  Wild Halibut is an unusual and fabulous fish for even more fabulous recipes; our last one came in at 18 stone two years ago. Unsurprisingly, halibut will be the special on The London Carriage Works menu for most of the week.  Paul will be pan roasting fillets of the wild Scottish halibut and serving it with an English risotto of leeks, wild mushroom and barley.

See our 'How to' recipes on the Home page.

This past Saturday, for the annual Hope Street Feast, we thought we would contribute lusciousness to the theme The Big Nosh. We set up our stall and served that great national crowd pleaser the ‘clotted cream and jam stuffed scone’. MMMMmmmmm, if we say so ourselves they were utterly luvverly, but they would be because our Bernie made them. 

Our delightful duo Howard and Maria did not stop all day from the first batch till the last, ‘it was like selling hot cakes’ said an exhausted finely sugar dusted Howard.  We hope we introduced a lot of people to the Afternoon Tea at TLCW (9.50 per head, 3pm – 5pm daily, book to make someone happy), it really is a lovely little social event, special and relaxing, delicious and filling.  Look out for our Christmas themed Afternoon tea, we are thinking mince pies, brandy butter and icing on the cake or was that robin on the log? 

P.S.  Anyone wanting a master class in Bunting, just call.